Challenges to Systems Thinking

[James Robert Crow <jr1crow@mindspring.com>]

Hello Group:

When is a system not a system?  This past week I was part of a group
putting together a proposal to do an audit of the local public
transportation system.  The "system" provides rail and bus transportation
to two counties and many communities within the area.  I use the word
"system" but I doubt that the "system" has an aim, or at least has a stated
aim in writing that all members of the organization are knowledgable.

This system operaten within a much larger "system" that extends to the
metorpolitian are that makes up at least 5 counties and could make up as
many as 17.  On top of this is traffic moving through the area from
surrounding states.  This area is a cross roads where 3 major Interstate
Highways come together.

Couple this with the larger economic "system" that has fueled unpresented
growth in the area over the past 20 years and you have traffic congestion
that you would not believe.  In trying to write the proposal I wanted to
say something to the effect that these larger systems are having a major
impact on the two counties served by MARTA, but I was stopped by the idea
that these larger systems do not have an aim, or at least not an aim that
is clear to anyone.  Perhaps if they had an aim we would not be in the
situation we are in.

We now have a regional transportation authority that is sponsoring this
audit.  They would like to take over MARTA and expand it into the larger
metropolitian area and I beleive this is the only way we will be able to
begin substituing public transportation for private cars.

Are these actually systems, or in fact do you need an aim for something to
become a system?  Without the aim they have many charactericts of a system.
Robert Crow
Principal
Crow Consulting
165 River North Circle NW
Atlanta, GA 30328 USA
Voice 770-396-2280
FAX 770-396-7010
jr1crow@mindspring.com
www.crowgroup.net